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Destination Travel News and Tips

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Federal agents searched three dozen homes Tuesday in California during a crackdown on so-called maternity tourism operators who arrange for pregnant Chinese women to give birth in the U.S., where their babies automatically become American citizens. The investigation of three alleged birth tourism rings may be the biggest yet by federal homeland security agents who say that, while pregnant women may travel to the United States ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cameras and pictures are allowed, but selfie sticks are now banned at the Smithsonian museums. The Smithsonian Institution issued a new policy Tuesday saying the use of selfie sticks is now prohibited, along with tripods and monopods in museums and gardens. Selfie sticks are handheld camera mounts for self-portraits. Smithsonian officials say this is a preventative measure to protect visitors and museum objects — especially when museums are crowded with thousands of ...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Borgata casino will open an outdoor concert hall this summer and a new nightclub this fall. The casino is getting $14 million from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority toward the $15 million total cost of both projects. Atlantic City's eight casinos are obligated to make investment alternative tax payments toward redevelopment projects. The $14 million approved on Tuesday represents current and future payments from the Borgata. The projects illustrate ...

VIENNA, Va. (AP) — Kelly Clarkson, Santana and Sheryl Crow are among the headliners planning to make stops this summer at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Wolf Trap is announcing its first 55 shows for the summer. Clarkson was added to the list Tuesday as she is planning a major tour for her new album "Piece by Piece." Clarkson plans to visit Wolf Trap for the first time Sept. 12 and ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service is predicting a peak bloom for Washington's cherry blossom trees between April 11-14. Organizers of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the park service announced the peak bloom date Tuesday. The average date for the peak bloom, when 70 percent of the trees around the Tidal Basin are in bloom, is April 4. This year's festival, which marks the anniversary of Japan's gift of 3,000 cherry trees, runs ...

DETROIT MUSEUM: DIEGO RIVERA-FRIDA KAHLO "He carried a pistol. She carried a flask." So reads an ad for the Detroit Institute of Arts' upcoming exhibition on the year that artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo spent in Detroit in the 1930s. "Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" opens March 15 and runs through July 12. The couple spent time in Detroit while Rivera created murals for the museum as a tribute to Detroit's manufacturing ...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Carnival Cruise Lines said Monday it is increasing its cruise capacity in New Orleans by replacing the smaller Carnival Elation ship with the Carnival Triumph. Carnival Triumph will shift from Galveston to New Orleans to launch year-round four- and five-day cruises to Mexico beginning April 4, 2016. On this route, four-day "long weekend" cruises depart Thursdays and call at Cozumel while five-day cruises depart Mondays and Saturdays and visit Cozumel and ...

DENVER (AP) — Winter Park Resort and Amtrak are adding a second ski train trip after the first one sold out in 10 hours. They announced Tuesday that the ski train will run March 15 in addition to the trip on March 14 in honor of the resort's 75th anniversary. The resort says the strong response to an alternative to driving in traffic to the mountains helps build the case for eventually resuming regular train ...

DETROIT MUSEUM: DIEGO RIVERA-FRIDA KAHLO "He carried a pistol. She carried a flask." So reads an ad for the Detroit Institute of Arts' upcoming exhibition on the year that artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo spent in Detroit in the 1930s. "Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" opens March 15 and runs through July 12. The couple spent time in Detroit while Rivera created murals for the museum as a tribute to Detroit's manufacturing ...

NEW YORK (AP) — More than two dozen early 15th-century sculptures created for Florence Cathedral are making an unprecedented appearance in New York City. The Museum of Biblical Art on Manhattan's Upper West Side is the sole worldwide venue for the exhibition "Sculpture in the Age of Donatello." Most have never been seen outside Italy. The trove is on loan during renovations at the cathedral's Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (muh-ZAY'-oh dehl AH'-pur-uh del DWOH'-moh). It ...

HELSINKI (AP) — Scandinavian Airlines canceled some 50 flights to and from Denmark on Monday after a four-day protest strike by 1,300 cabin crew members in Denmark, but most had returned to work by the evening, the airline said. Group spokesman Henrik Edstrom said some flights would still be disrupted on Tuesday with full SAS service expected to resume by the following day. Crews had walked off the job on Friday to protest the airline's ...

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — A Disneyland attraction has reopened after a small fire nearby was quickly put out. The theme park says the "It's a Small World" ride resumed operations Saturday night. The fire broke out in some foliage in the backstage area of the attraction. Disneyland fire crews quickly doused the flames. No one was hurt and there was no damage to the ride. The cause is under investigation. Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown says ...